<h2>THE CAT AND THE BIRDS</h2>
<br>
<p>A Cat heard that the Birds in an aviary were ailing. So he got
himself up as a doctor, and, taking with him a set of the
instruments proper to his profession, presented himself at the
door, and inquired after the health of the Birds. "We shall do very
well," they replied, without letting him in, "when we've seen the
last of you."</p>
<p class="adage">A villain may disguise himself, but he will not
deceive the wise.</p>
<br>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/040.jpg" alt="THE CAT AND THE BIRDS"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN</h2>
<br>
<p>A dispute arose between the North Wind and the Sun, each
claiming that he was stronger than the other. At last they agreed
to try their powers upon a traveller, to see which could soonest
strip him of his cloak. The North Wind had the first try; and,
gathering up all his force for the attack, he came whirling
furiously down upon the man, and caught up his cloak as though he
would wrest it from him by one single effort: but the harder he
blew, the more closely the man wrapped it round himself. Then came
the turn of the Sun. At first he beamed gently upon the traveller,
who soon unclasped his cloak and walked on with it hanging loosely
about his shoulders: then he shone forth in his full strength, and
the man, before he had gone many steps, was glad to throw his cloak
right off and complete his journey more lightly clad.</p>
<p class="adage">Persuasion is better than force</p>
<br>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/048.jpg" alt="THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE FOX AND THE STORK</h2>
<br>
<p>A Fox invited a Stork to dinner, at which the only fare provided
was a large flat dish of soup. The Fox lapped it up with great
relish, but the Stork with her long bill tried in vain to partake
of the savoury broth. Her evident distress caused the sly Fox much
amusement. But not long after the Stork invited him in turn, and
set before him a pitcher with a long and narrow neck, into which
she could get her bill with ease. Thus, while she enjoyed her
dinner, the Fox sat by hungry and helpless, for it was impossible
for him to reach the tempting contents of the vessel.</p>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/052-2.jpg" alt="THE FOX AND THE STORK"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE FLEA AND THE MAN</h2>
<br>
<p>A Flea bit a Man, and bit him again, and again, till he could
stand it no longer, but made a thorough search for it, and at last
succeeded in catching it. Holding it between his finger and thumb,
he said&mdash;or rather shouted, so angry was he&mdash;"Who are
you, pray, you wretched little creature, that you make so free with
my person?" The Flea, terrified, whimpered in a weak little voice,
"Oh, sir! pray let me go; don't kill me! I am such a little thing
that I can't do you much harm." But the Man laughed and said, "I am
going to kill you now, at once: whatever is bad has got to be
destroyed, no matter how slight the harm it does."</p>
<p class="adage">Do not waste your pity on a scamp.</p>
<br>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/062.jpg" alt="THE FLEA AND THE MAN"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE CRAB AND HIS MOTHER</h2>
<br>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/04-tcrab.jpg" alt="THE CRAB AND HIS MOTHER"></div>
<p>An Old Crab said to her son, "Why do you walk sideways like
that, my son? You ought to walk straight." The Young Crab replied,
"Show me how, dear mother, and I'll follow your example." The Old
Crab tried, but tried in vain, and then saw how foolish she had
been to find fault with her child.</p>
<p class="adage">Example is better than precept.</p>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE THIEVES AND THE COCK</h2>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/076.jpg" alt="THE THIEVES AND THE COCK"></div>
<p>Some Thieves broke into a house, and found nothing worth taking
except a Cock, which they seized and carried off with them. When
they were preparing their supper, one of them caught up the Cock,
and was about to wring his neck, when he cried out for mercy and
said, "Pray do not kill me: you will find me a most useful bird,
for I rouse honest men to their work in the morning by my crowing."
But the Thief replied with some heat, "Yes, I know you do, making
it still harder for us to get a livelihood. Into the pot you
go!"</p>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE BOY BATHING</h2>
<br>
<p>A Boy was bathing in a river and got out of his depth, and was
in great danger of being drowned. A man who was passing along a
road heard his cries for help, and went to the riverside and began
to scold him for being so careless as to get into deep water, but
made no attempt to help him. "Oh, sir," cried the Boy, "please help
me first and scold me afterwards."</p>
<p class="adage">Give assistance, not advice, in a crisis.</p>
<br>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/084.jpg" alt="THE BOY BATHING"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE FROGS ASKING FOR A KING</h2>
<br>
<div class="figleft"><img src=
"images/092.jpg" alt="KING LOG"></a>
<h5>KING LOG</h5>
</div>
<p>Time was when the Frogs were discontented because they had no
one to rule over them: so they sent a deputation to Jupiter to ask
him to give them a King. Jupiter, despising the folly of their
request, cast a log into the pool where they lived, and said that
that should be their King. The Frogs were terrified at first by the
splash, and scuttled away into the deepest parts of the pool; but
by and by, when they saw that the log remained motionless, one by
one they ventured to the surface again, and before long, growing
bolder, they began to feel such contempt for it that they even took
to sitting upon it. Thinking that a King of that sort was an insult
to their dignity, they sent to Jupiter a second time, and begged
him to take away the sluggish King he had given them, and to give
them another and a better one. Jupiter, annoyed at being pestered
in this way, sent a Stork to rule over them, who no sooner arrived
among them than he began to catch and eat the Frogs as fast as he
could.</p>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/091.jpg" alt="THE FROGS ASKING FOR A KING"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE FOX WITHOUT A TAIL</h2>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/097.jpg" alt="THE FOX WITHOUT A TAIL"></div>
<br>
<p>A fox once fell into a trap, and after a struggle managed to get
free, but with the loss of his brush. He was then so much ashamed
of his appearance that he thought life was not worth living unless
he could persuade the other Foxes to part with their tails also,
and thus divert attention from his own loss. So he called a meeting
of all the Foxes, and advised them to cut off their tails: "They're
ugly things anyhow," he said, "and besides they're heavy, and it's
tiresome to be always carrying them about with you." But one of the
other Foxes said, "My friend, if you hadn't lost your own tail, you
wouldn't be so keen on getting us to cut off ours."</p>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE SHIPWRECKED MAN AND THE SEA</h2>
<br>
<p>A Shipwrecked Man cast up on the beach fell asleep after his
struggle with the waves. When he woke up, he bitterly reproached
the Sea for its treachery in enticing men with its smooth and
smiling surface, and then, when they were well embarked, turning in
fury upon them and sending both ship and sailors to destruction.
The Sea arose in the form of a woman, and replied, "Lay not the
blame on me, O sailor, but on the Winds. By nature I am as calm and
safe as the land itself: but the Winds fall upon me with their
gusts and gales, and lash me into a fury that is not natural to
me."</p>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/06-tship.jpg" alt="THE SHIPWRECKED MAN AND THE SEA"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE FOX AND THE LION</h2>
<br>
<p>A Fox who had never seen a Lion one day met one, and was so
terrified at the sight of him that he was ready to die with fear.
After a time he met him again, and was still rather frightened, but
not nearly so much as he had been when he met him first. But when
he saw him for the third time he was so far from being afraid that
he went up to him and began to talk to him as if he had known him
all his life.</p>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/101-2.jpg"alt="THE FOX AND THE LION"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE BLACKAMOOR</h2>
<br>
<p>A Man once bought an Ethiopian slave, who had a black skin like
all Ethiopians; but his new master thought his colour was due to
his late owner's having neglected him, and that all he wanted was a
good scrubbing. So he set to work with plenty of soap and hot
water, and rubbed away at him with a will, but all to no purpose:
his skin remained as black as ever, while the poor wretch all but
died from the cold he caught.</p>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/07-tblack.jpg"
alt="THE BLACKAMOOR"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE MAN AND THE SATYR</h2>
<br>
<p>A Man and a Satyr became friends, and determined to live
together. All went well for a while, until one day in winter-time
the Satyr saw the Man blowing on his hands. "Why do you do that?"
he asked. "To warm my hands," said the Man. That same day, when
they sat down to supper together, they each had a steaming hot bowl
of porridge, and the Man raised his bowl to his mouth and blew on
it. "Why do you do that?" asked the Satyr. "To cool my porridge,"
said the Man. The Satyr got up from the table. "Good-bye," said he,
"I'm going: I can't be friends with a man who blows hot and cold
with the same breath."</p>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/116.jpg" alt="THE MAN AND THE SATYR"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE CAT AND THE COCK</h2>
<br>
<p>A Cat pounced on a Cock, and cast about for some good excuse for
making a meal off him, for Cats don't as a rule eat Cocks, and she
knew she ought not to. At last she said, "You make a great nuisance
of yourself at night by crowing and keeping people awake: so I am
going to make an end of you." But the Cock defended himself by
saying that he crowed in order that men might wake up and set about
the day's work in good time, and that they really couldn't very
well do without him. "That may be," said the Cat, "but whether they
can or not, I'm not going without my dinner"; and she killed and
ate him.</p>
<p class="adage">The want of a good excuse never kept a villain
from crime.</p>
<br>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/122.jpg" alt="THE CAT AND THE COCK"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE TOWN MOUSE AND THE COUNTRY MOUSE</h2>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/141.jpg" alt="THE TOWN MOUSE AND THE COUNTRY MOUSE"></div>
<br>
<p>A Town Mouse and a Country Mouse were acquaintances, and the
Country Mouse one day invited his friend to come and see him at his
home in the fields. The Town Mouse came, and they sat down to a
dinner of barleycorns and roots, the latter of which had a
distinctly earthy flavour. The fare was not much to the taste of
the guest, and presently he broke out with "My poor dear friend,
you live here no better than the ants. Now, you should just see how
I fare! My larder is a regular horn of plenty. You must come and
stay with me, and I promise you you shall live on the fat of the
land." So when he returned to town he took the Country Mouse with
him, and showed him into a larder containing flour and oatmeal and
figs and honey and dates. The Country Mouse had never seen anything
like it, and sat down to enjoy the luxuries his friend provided:
but before they had well begun, the door of the larder opened and
some one came in. The two Mice scampered off and hid themselves in
a narrow and exceedingly uncomfortable hole. Presently, when all
was quiet, they ventured out again; but some one else came in, and
off they scuttled again. This was too much for the visitor.
"Good-bye," said he, "I'm off. You live in the lap of luxury, I can
see, but you are surrounded by dangers; whereas at home I can enjoy
my simple dinner of roots and corn in peace."</p>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>VENUS AND THE CAT</h2>
<br>
<p>A Cat fell in love with a handsome young man, and begged the
goddess Venus to change her into a woman. Venus was very gracious
about it, and changed her at once into a beautiful maiden, whom the
young man fell in love with at first sight and shortly afterwards
married. One day Venus thought she would like to see whether the
Cat had changed her habits as well as her form; so she let a mouse
run loose in the room where they were. Forgetting everything, the
young woman had no sooner seen the mouse than up she jumped and was
after it like a shot: at which the goddess was so disgusted that
she changed her back again into a Cat.</p>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/09-tvenus.jpg" alt="VENUS AND THE CAT"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANTS</h2>
<br>
<p>One fine day in winter some Ants were busy drying their store of
corn, which had got rather damp during a long spell of rain.
Presently up came a Grasshopper and begged them to spare her a few
grains, "For," she said, "I'm simply starving." The Ants stopped
work for a moment, though this was against their principles. "May
we ask," said they, "what you were doing with yourself all last
summer? Why didn't you collect a store of food for the winter?"
"The fact is," replied the Grasshopper, "I was so busy singing that
I hadn't the time." "If you spent the summer singing," replied the
Ants, "you can't do better than spend the winter dancing." And they
chuckled and went on with their work.</p>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/154.jpg" alt="THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANTS"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE BALD MAN AND THE FLY</h2>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/158-1.jpg" alt="THE BALD MAN AND THE FLY"></div>
<div class="figleft"><img width="200" src="images/158-2.jpg" alt=""></div>
<p>A Fly settled on the head of a Bald Man and bit him. In his
eagerness to kill it, he hit himself a smart slap. But the Fly
escaped, and said to him in derision, "You tried to kill me for
just one little bite; what will you do to yourself now, for the
heavy smack you have just given yourself?" "Oh, for that blow I
bear no grudge," he replied, "for I never intended myself any harm;
but as for you, you contemptible insect, who live by sucking human
blood, I'd have borne a good deal more than that for the
satisfaction of dashing the life out of you!"</p>
<br clear="all">
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE WOLF AND THE GOAT</h2>
<br>
<p>A Wolf caught sight of a Goat browsing above him on the scanty
herbage that grew on the top of a steep rock; and being unable to
get at her, tried to induce her to come lower down. "You are
risking your life up there, madam, indeed you are," he called out:
"pray take my advice and come down here, where you will find plenty
of better food." The Goat turned a knowing eye upon him. "It's
little you care whether I get good grass or bad," said she: "what
you want is to eat me."</p>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/170.jpg" alt="THE WOLF AND THE GOAT"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE KINGDOM OF THE LION</h2>
<br>
<p>When the Lion reigned over the beasts of the earth he was never
cruel or tyrannical, but as gentle and just as a King ought to be.
During his reign he called a general assembly of the beasts, and
drew up a code of laws under which all were to live in perfect
equality and harmony: the wolf and the lamb, the tiger and the
stag, the leopard and the kid, the dog and the hare, all should
dwell side by side in unbroken peace and friendship. The hare said,
"Oh! how I have longed for this day when the weak take their place
without fear by the side of the strong!"</p>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/174.jpg" alt="THE KINGDOM OF THE LION"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE TREES AND THE AXE</h2>
<br>
<p>A Woodman went into the forest and begged of the Trees the
favour of a handle for his Axe. The principal Trees at once agreed
to so modest a request, and unhesitatingly gave him a young ash
sapling, out of which he fashioned the handle he desired. No sooner
had he done so than he set to work to fell the noblest Trees in the
wood. When they saw the use to which he was putting their gift,
they cried, "Alas! alas! We are undone, but we are ourselves to
blame. The little we gave has cost us all: had we not sacrificed
the rights of the ash, we might ourselves have stood for ages."</p>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/11-ttrees.jpg"
alt="THE TREES AND THE AXE"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE MULE</h2>
<br>
<p>One morning a Mule, who had too much to eat and too little to
do, began to think himself a very fine fellow indeed, and frisked
about saying, "My father was undoubtedly a high-spirited horse and
I take after him entirely." But very soon afterwards he was put
into the harness and compelled to go a very long way with a heavy
load behind him. At the end of the day, exhausted by his unusual
exertions, he said dejectedly to himself, "I must have been
mistaken about my father; he can only have been an ass after
all."</p>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/183-2.jpg" alt=""></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE MONKEY AND THE DOLPHIN</h2>
<div class="figright"><img src="images/213.jpg" alt=""></div>
<p>When people go on a voyage they often take with them lap-dogs or
monkeys as pets to wile away the time. Thus it fell out that a man
returning to Athens from the East had a pet Monkey on board with
him. As they neared the coast of Attica a great storm burst upon
them, and the ship capsized. All on board were thrown into the
water, and tried to save themselves by swimming, the Monkey among
the rest. A Dolphin saw him, and, supposing him to be a man, took
him on his back and began swimming towards the shore. When they got
near the Piraeus, which is the port of Athens, the Dolphin asked
the Monkey if he was an Athenian. The Monkey replied that he was,
and added that he came of a very distinguished family. "Then, of
course, you know the Piraeus," continued the Dolphin. The Monkey
thought he was referring to some high official or other, and
replied, "Oh, yes, he's a very old friend of mine." At that,
detecting his hypocrisy, the Dolphin was so disgusted that he dived
below the surface, and the unfortunate Monkey was quickly
drowned.</p>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/214.jpg" alt="THE MONKEY AND THE DOLPHIN"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE WOLF AND HIS SHADOW</h2>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/220.jpg" alt="THE WOLF AND HIS SHADOW"></div>
<p>A Wolf, who was roaming about on the plain when the sun was
getting low in the sky, was much impressed by the size of his
shadow, and said to himself, "I had no idea I was so big. Fancy my
being afraid of a lion! Why, I, not he, ought to be King of the
beasts"; and, heedless of danger, he strutted about as if there
could be no doubt at all about it. Just then a lion sprang upon him
and began to devour him. "Alas," he cried, "had I not lost sight of
the facts, I shouldn't have been ruined by my fancies."</p>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
<h2>THE GNAT AND THE LION</h2>
<br>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/227.jpg" alt=""></div>
<p>A Gnat once went up to a Lion and said, "I am not in the least
afraid of you: I don't even allow that you are a match for me in
strength. What does your strength amount to after all? That you can
scratch with your claws and bite with your teeth&mdash;just like a
woman in a temper&mdash;and nothing more. But I'm stronger than
you: if you don't believe it, let us fight and see." So saying, the
Gnat sounded his horn, and darted in and bit the Lion on the nose.
When the Lion felt the sting, in his haste to crush him he
scratched his nose badly, and made it bleed, but failed altogether
to hurt the Gnat, which buzzed off in triumph, elated by its
victory. Presently, however, it got entangled in a spider's web,
and was caught and eaten by the spider, thus falling a prey to an
insignificant insect after having triumphed over the King of the
Beasts.</p>
<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/13-tgnat.jpg"
alt="THE GNAT AND THE LION"></div>
<br>
<br>
<hr>
